Following ICU closure at Martin General Hospital, residents raise concern about critical access for rural patients

Now, other area hospitals are preparing to see an increase in patients from the area. Families in the community said they're also facing concerns about access to care for their loved ones.

Martin General Hospital in Williamston is owned by the county and is currently leased and operated by provider Quorum Health.

On July 12, hospital leaders announced difficulties with nurse staffing would require them to temporarily shutter the ICU.

"Like many rural hospitals across the nation, our hospital has struggled to recruit nurses despite ongoing efforts," Martin General Hospital CEO John Jacobson said in a statement.

Violations could cost UNC Hospital its federal funding

Martin County manager James Bennett said Quorum Health informed the county that it made the decision after choosing to no longer hire travel nurses, who typically command a higher salary than permanent staff.

Bennett said the hospital decided to close the ICU and use the leftover money from travel nurse recruitment to increase pay for local nurses.

The decision has already caused some concern in Martin County.

"I know that it’s going to be devastating to our community," Martin-Pitt Partnership For Children president Sharon Cooper said.

Cooper has already been impacted by the hospital’s prior difficulties when its maternity ward shut down in 2021 and her daughter had to travel to Beaufort County to give birth.

The hospital’s statement outlined alternatives for critical care patients from Martin County.

"For those patients who present to the emergency department needing higher-acuity intensive care, Martin General remains in close contact with ECU Health in Greenville to facilitate quick transfers when necessary," Jacobson said.

"Martin General also works with the University of North Carolina, Duke University Hospital and WakeMed to ensure continuity of care."

Twenty-five miles from Williamston, ECU Health is the closest hospital to Williamston and told WRAL News it was expecting an influx of patients following the closure.

"Rural health care has long been overburdened and under-resourced, and the latest development is an unfortunate reminder of this reality," an ECU Health spokesperson said.

"We are also working with Martin General Hospital to ensure patients have access to high-quality care … and are prepared to serve additional patients as needed."

A rural county with a significant elderly population, some Martin County residents said they were concerned that outsourcing critical care as far as Raleigh would make it inaccessible to their community.

"A lot of people have to go here because they do not have any other choice, and now you’re telling them that maybe, you might not be able to get in at ECU Health, but maybe try Raleigh?" Cooper said. "This is going to hit Martin County very hard."

In the meantime, county leaders have started to take action.

"Obviously it’s not something that the county as a whole likes to hear," Bennett said. "We have been talking with various other providers."

Bennett said Quorum Health has indicated that it hoped to break its lease agreement to run Martin General for the next six years.

Since 2021, the county has been looking for another health care company to help their hospital get back on track.

"I was just finishing up a conversation with one of the hospital providers that we are trying to get to take the operation over," Bennett said.